The present invention relates to water pipe or hose junctions and more particularly pertains to a new switching device for connecting a shower head to a water pipe or hose enabling a user to allow or stop water flowing through the shower head without controlling the faucet.
The available junctions in the marketplace only connect the shower heads to the pipes or hoses of water supply and do not serve as switches to control the water supply. During showering, hands are usually filled with soap foam which leaves dirty markings on the faucet. It is very troublesome to clean up the dirty markings on the faucet each time after showering. To elderly people, it is difficult for them to bend to turn on or off the faucet so as to control the water supply during showering. Where the faucet is located far away from the shower head, it is inconvenient to control the water supply by turning on or off the faucet.
In view of the aforesaid disadvantages now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new switching device which connects a shower head to a water pipe or hose and enables a user to allow or stop water flowing through the shower head by pushing or pulling the shower head without controlling the faucet.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a casing which has a flange inside, a thread outside at its bottom end corresponding with that on the shower head to which it is screwed and a thread at its inside top to which a sealing cover with a corresponding thread is screwed; a cylindrical inner pipe which is placed inside the casing and has at least two nozzles on its surface and an outward flange at the top; a rubber packing which is placed in between the outward flange of the inner pipe and the flange of the casing; a cylindrical center pipe which can be inserted into the inner pipe and moved up and down and has at least two nozzles on its surface corresponding with those on the inner pipe and for each nozzle there are two grooves on the surface of the center pipe, one vertically above the nozzle and one vertically below the nozzle, and it has a thread inside at its upper end corresponding with that on the water hose or pipe to which it is screwed and at least two vertical guiding troughs outside at its upper end; at least four gaskets which are placed in the grooves on the surface of the center pipe; a fixing ring which is placed on top of the outward flange of the inner pipe and has protrusions in position corresponding to the vertical guiding troughs of the center pipe; at least two cylindrical pieces which penetrate through the fixing ring and the outward flange of the inner pipe and insert into the flange of the casing; and a sealing cover which has a thread corresponding to the thread at the inside top of the casing to which it is screwed and is fixed in between the upper part of the center pipe and the upper end of the casing pressing downwards against the top of the fixing ring.
When the shower head is pushed upwards, the inner pipe together with the casing slides upwards along the vertical guiding troughs of the center pipe and the nozzles on the surface of the inner pipe corresponds with those on the surface of the center pipe so that water can pass through and supply water to the shower head. When the shower head is pulled downwards, the inner pipe together with the casing slides downwards along the vertical guiding troughs of the center pipe and the nozzles on the surface of the inner pipe do not correspond with those on the surface of the center pipe so that water flow is blocked and no water is supplied to the shower head.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new switching device which allows water flowing through the shower head by pushing up the shower head and stops water flowing through the shower head by pulling down the shower head.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new switching device which is of simple and reliable construction.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new switching device which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such switching device economically available to the buying public.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new switching device which enables a user to allow or stop water flowing through the shower head by pushing or pulling the shower head without controlling the faucet, thus overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art.